articles by Francesca Balossi Restelli
South Mesopotamian prehistoric Samarran and Ubaid settlements are characterised by large and isol... more South Mesopotamian prehistoric Samarran and Ubaid settlements are characterised by large and isolated domestic dwellings which have been interpreted as being occupied by extended families. These, possibly with some degree of competition between each other, formed the base of South
Mesopotamian communities of agriculturalists.
Totally different are the Neolithic and Chalcolithic communities of the North, Syrian, Iraqi and Turkish Euphrates and Tigris regions. The economic base of the communities is in this case the nuclear family, with a stronger emphasis on
intra-village cooperation than is evident in the south.
This paper will compare the distribution and character of domestic activities from the Ubaid site of Tell Madhur, in Central Mesopotamia, the Ubaid site of Değirmentepe, a site in Eastern Turkey, but with the typical southern character,
and the Post-Ubaid occupation at neighbouring Arslantepe, with the intent of investigating the composition of the Ubaid families and the organisation of daily life and activities within these households. In light of this, the character of Ubaid occupation in the Malatya plain and the elements of continuity and change within the regional developments of the region from Ubaid to Late Chalcolithic will be evaluated.
A functional approach to the study of vessels from two different regions of southeastern Anatolia... more A functional approach to the study of vessels from two different regions of southeastern Anatolia is used to investigate cooking habits, domestic behaviour and social contexts of food consumption. Social dynamics, which are linked to food preparation and consumption, are compared at the two sites of Arslantepe and Zeytinli Bahçe in the LC3 period, with the aid of ethnoarchaeological and interdisciplinary approaches. It will also be considered whether different practices can be read as the expression of distinct cultural identities/ethnic groups and the roots of these will be searched for in the earlier periods of the same regions.
This paper attempts to draw a picture of different kinds of commensalities in the Near Eastern Po... more This paper attempts to draw a picture of different kinds of commensalities in the Near Eastern Pottery Neolithic (7th millennium BC) through an analysis of consumption vessels. The case study will be the Syrian and Turkish regions of the Northern Levant. I shall underline the strong symbolic function of vessels in distinguishing commensal events and argue that the basic role of commensality remains largely unmodified until the end of the Ubaid period (2nd half of the 5th millennium BC). The beginning of the Late Chalcolithic then marks a major change. At this point, the development of different types of commensalities leads to a decrease in the role of pottery as symbolic marker of commensal events.
Near Eastern Archaeology; commensality; Near East; Neolithic; Chalcolithic; consump- tion vessels; status.
This article presents the earliest, V millennium BCE, occupation at the site of Arslantepe. The e... more This article presents the earliest, V millennium BCE, occupation at the site of Arslantepe. The excavations have brought to light a long sequence of overlying domestic structures particularly rich in material remains. Links with earlier Ubaid occupation in the same region (at the site of Değirmentepe) testify to the local development of these communities and similarities with contemporary occupation at the site of Oylum Höyük suggest contacts with the South-West. Radiocarbon dates and comparisons with other sites provide a date around 4300-4200BCE for these remains. Most interesting are the features of the domestic dwellings, which include an elaborate set of installations connected with the use of fire and objects for the production of foods. Modes of food production and consumption are here investigated on the basis of such data.
AFTER THE UBAID: INTERPRETING CHANGE FROM THE CAUCASUS TO MESOPOTAMIA AT THE DAWN OF URBAN CIVILIZATION (4500-3500 BC), 2012
Computational modeling in archeology has proven to be a useful tool in quantifying changes in the... more Computational modeling in archeology has proven to be a useful tool in quantifying changes in the paleoenvironment. This especially useful method combines data from diverse disciplines to answer questions focusing on the complex and non-linear aspects of human-environment interactions. The research presented here uses various proxy records to compare the changes in climate during the Bronze Age in the Malatya Plain in eastern Anatolia, which is situated at the northern extremity of northern Mesopotamia. Extensive agropastoral land use modeling was applied to three sites of different size and function in the Malatya Plain during the Early Bronze Age I period to simulate the varying scale and intensity of human impacts in relation to changes in the level of social organization, demography, and temporal length. The results suggest that even in land use types subjected to a light footprint, the scale and intensity of anthropogenic impacts change significantly in relation to the level of social organization.
Cooking methods and practises are crucial in defining group identity, in expressing social and ki... more Cooking methods and practises are crucial in defining group identity, in expressing social and kin networks, and in reflecting domestic economies. In this paper I discuss fire installations and fire related utensils from a functional and typological point of view, throughout the prehistoric and early historic phases of occupation at the East Anatolian site of Arslantepe, over a period of nearly 2500 years (4200-1750 BCE). Arslantepe, through this long sequence, testifies to the development of hierarchical societies, the origin of primary state and its collapse, groups of semi-mobile pastoral communities and then small towns of farmers. Through the distribution of cooking facilities, their attributes and peculiarities, domestic economies and social relations linked to food preparation and consumption are investigated at the site.
Résumé : Les méthodes de cuisson et les pratiques culinaires sont essentielles pour définir l'identité d'un groupe. Elles permettent d'identifier des réseaux parentaux ou sociaux, tout en reflétant une économie familiale. Dans cet article, je présente, d'un point de vue typologique et fonctionnel, les installations associées au feu et les ustensiles utilisés sur le site d'Arslantepe, en Anatolie orientale, sur une période de près de 2500 ans (4200-1750 av. notre ère). Arslantepe témoigne, par cette longue séquence, du développement des sociétés hiérarchisées, de l'origine de l'État et de son effondrement, de l'arrivée de communautés pastorales semi-mobiles puis de l'existence de petits villages agricoles. Les économies familiales et les relations sociales liées à la préparation et à la consommation des aliments sont ici étudiées à travers le prisme de la répartition spatiale des équipements culinaires et leurs différentes caractéris-tiques techniques.
Bread, baking moulds and related cooking techniques in the Ancient Near East
The paper deals with baking techniques and tools for the production of bread from Ancient Near Ea... more The paper deals with baking techniques and tools for the production of bread from Ancient Near Eastern archaeological contexts. The aim is to understand when grain doughs started to be cooked in the Near East, how they were produced and what they looked like. Ingredients, ancient utensils, and baking techniques are investigated as well as ethnographic analogies suggested. The analysis is further enriched by a comparison with techniques and tools attested in historical periods and ancient texts, including baking moulds and recipes. This contributes to the identification and understanding of the technological differences between bread-baking installations existing in the Ancient Near East that often are not differentiated in the literature, for which we instead suggest distinct contexts of use.
Bread, baking moulds and related cooking techniques in the ancient Near East, Food and History, 12/3, 2014: 38-56
The present paper deals with baking techniques and tools for the production of bread-like foods f... more The present paper deals with baking techniques and tools for the production of bread-like foods from Near Eastern Prehistoric contexts. Aim is that of understanding when bread-like products start to be cooked in the Near East, how they were produced and what they looked like. Ingredients, ancient utensils and baking techniques are investigated and ethnographic analogies suggested. The analysis is further enriched by a comparison with techniques and tools attested in historical periods and in ancient texts (as baking moulds and recipes).
A considerable amount of charcoal remains from the archaeological site of Arslantepe (Eastern Ana... more A considerable amount of charcoal remains from the archaeological site of Arslantepe (Eastern Anatolia) has been analysed. The anthracological assemblage comes from seven archaeological periods, ranging from the Late Chalcolithic 1–2 (mid-5th millennium BCE) to the Early Bronze Age III (late 3rd millennium BCE). The woody taxa exploited by the local communities appeared to have only mi- nor changes throughout the investigated periods. For the eval- uation of wood use practices, charcoal was chronologically grouped according to depositional context. The categories of depositional context identified differentiate between the uses of wood for structural parts of buildings, object manufacture, fuel, refuse, and wood found in outdoor areas or in burial contexts. Communities at Arslantepe, characterized by different cultural and socio-economic traits, appeared overall to select timber de- pending on its use: hydrophilous plants prevail in building mate- rial, with the exception of the 2900–2500 BCE period when environmental constraints probably motivate the dominance of woodland-steppe plants. The differential occurrence of taxa in the diverse depositional contexts highlighted cases of under/overestimation of remains, in particular in relation to the woods for construction. Finally, taxa have been attributed to different ecological groups. The interpretation of results and the comparison with other available palaeoenvironmental data point out that climatic factors play only a secondary role in the choice of wood exploitation in the area. Human choice may vary even with constant environmental records.
Food and History, 2014
The present paper deals with baking techniques and tools for the production of bread from Ancient... more The present paper deals with baking techniques and tools for the production of bread from Ancient Near Eastern contexts. Aim is that of understanding when bread products start to be cooked in the Near East, how they were produced and what they looked like. Ingredients, ancient utensils and baking techniques are investigated and ethnographic analogies suggested. The analysis is further enriched by a comparison with techniques and tools attested in historical periods and in ancient texts, as baking moulds and recipes
Henoch, 2016
Introduzione storicamente il passaggio all'economia di produzione (la rivoluzione neolitica) è st... more Introduzione storicamente il passaggio all'economia di produzione (la rivoluzione neolitica) è stato descritto come uno dei primi momenti di grande incremento demografico. 1 l'economia agricola e pastorale, rispetto a quella di caccia e raccolta, avrebbe infatti portato a una dieta più ricca e regolare che a sua volta avrebbe determinato l'abbassamento dell'età del menarca, l'aumento del periodo di fertilità delle donne e dunque un incremento della loro fecondità. 2 inoltre l'agricoltura, avendo bisogno di molta mano d'opera, avrebbe stimolato la crescita demografica di famiglie e comunità. tale aumento è stato anche quantificato da alcuni studiosi, come da fekri Hassan che nel 1980 sosteneva che la crescita demografica nel periodo agricolo fosse stata di cento volte maggiore rispetto a quella del Pleistocene e dell'inizio dell'olocene. 3 1 e.
in: The Emergence of Pottery in West Asia, ed. A. Tsuneki, O. Nieuwenhuyse, S. Campbell, 2017
Community involvement at Arslantepe (Eastern Turkey); a contribution to the enhancement and preservation of the site
Arslantepe, Malatya: Recent Discoveries in the 2017-2018 Seasons
Late Chalcolithic Burials and Funerary Rituals
Traditions West of the Euphrates at the Begginning of the Chalcolithic. Characteristics, Definitions, and Supra-Regional Correlations
This paper discusses the relationships between the Turkish Upper Euphrates and regions located to... more This paper discusses the relationships between the Turkish Upper Euphrates and regions located to thesouthwest, near the Syro-Turkish border, during the early stages of the Late Chalcolithic period. This period is best represented in these regions by the sites of Arslantepe and Oylum H{\"{o}}y{\"{u}}k. While a detailed presenta-tion of the early Late Chalcolithic occupation levels of Arslantepe and Oylum H{\"{o}}y{\"{u}}k is provided elsewherein this volume, their pottery assemblages are here compared in order to identify common characteristics,together with interregional connections with contemporary sites located to the north, the west and the east.
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articles by Francesca Balossi Restelli
Mesopotamian communities of agriculturalists.
Totally different are the Neolithic and Chalcolithic communities of the North, Syrian, Iraqi and Turkish Euphrates and Tigris regions. The economic base of the communities is in this case the nuclear family, with a stronger emphasis on
intra-village cooperation than is evident in the south.
This paper will compare the distribution and character of domestic activities from the Ubaid site of Tell Madhur, in Central Mesopotamia, the Ubaid site of Değirmentepe, a site in Eastern Turkey, but with the typical southern character,
and the Post-Ubaid occupation at neighbouring Arslantepe, with the intent of investigating the composition of the Ubaid families and the organisation of daily life and activities within these households. In light of this, the character of Ubaid occupation in the Malatya plain and the elements of continuity and change within the regional developments of the region from Ubaid to Late Chalcolithic will be evaluated.
Near Eastern Archaeology; commensality; Near East; Neolithic; Chalcolithic; consump- tion vessels; status.
Résumé : Les méthodes de cuisson et les pratiques culinaires sont essentielles pour définir l'identité d'un groupe. Elles permettent d'identifier des réseaux parentaux ou sociaux, tout en reflétant une économie familiale. Dans cet article, je présente, d'un point de vue typologique et fonctionnel, les installations associées au feu et les ustensiles utilisés sur le site d'Arslantepe, en Anatolie orientale, sur une période de près de 2500 ans (4200-1750 av. notre ère). Arslantepe témoigne, par cette longue séquence, du développement des sociétés hiérarchisées, de l'origine de l'État et de son effondrement, de l'arrivée de communautés pastorales semi-mobiles puis de l'existence de petits villages agricoles. Les économies familiales et les relations sociales liées à la préparation et à la consommation des aliments sont ici étudiées à travers le prisme de la répartition spatiale des équipements culinaires et leurs différentes caractéris-tiques techniques.